Machine for feeding tobacco



July 29, 1941- J. F. HALSTEAD MACHINE FOR FEEDING TOBACCO Filed July 1, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 D A E T s M v RH m R N O E N H V H J July 29, 1941. J. F. HALSTEAD MACHINE FOR FEEDING TOBACCO Filed July 1, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HALST AD ATTORNEY.

'JoHNF.

Patented July 29, 1941 OFFICE HEACHINE FOR FEEDING TOBACCO Application July 1, 1937, Serial No; 151,395

29 Claims.

This invention relates to cigar machines, and more particularly to apparatus for feeding short filler tobacco and means for arranging the filler tobacco with the lengths of the several pieces extending in the same direction.

Short filler tobacco fed from the supply magazines on many cigar machines has no definite arrangement, so that the several pieces lie in any direction. If it be fed into the charge and bunch forming mechanism in this condition the cigars. formed therefrom may be unsatisfactory due to unevenness f the filler arrangement in the bunches, hard lumpy spots, the draft will be cut down so that the cigar may burn unevenly or be difilcult to smoke, and the short filler may be cut into smaller pieces when the bunch charges are formed.

According to the present invention it is proposed to eliminatesubstantially all of the above mentioned disadvantages by the provision of mechanism which will so feed the filler tobacco tothe bunch charge forming device, that the several. pieces'of filler constituting each quantity fed will be substantially aligned, or have their lengths extending in the same direction and maintain the size'of the filler tobacco substantially the same as it was when fed'from the magazine.

It is an object of this invention to feed short filler tobacco in such a manner that cigars made therefrom will be more perfect than short filler cigars heretofore produced.

It is an additional object to provide tobacco feeding mechanism including means for substantially aligning the short filler so that the pieces thereof will'have their lengths extending in a single direction.

It is a further object to arrange short filler tobacco so that the pieces thereof tend to lie in the same general direction for formation into bunch'lengths prior tothe introduction of the aligned tobacco into the bunch forming chamber.

It is also an object to provide mechanism for forming a substantially V-shaped short filler receiving and arranging pocket wherein as the tobacco enters the pocket it contacts the upper portions thereof. and the pieces thereof range themselves in the pocket with their lengths extending in one general direction.

It is an added. object to so feed short filler tobacco to bunch forming'mechanism that its pieces substantially all extend in one general direction, and the likelihood of further reducing the :sizeof the filler is practically eliminated.

With these andcther objects not specifically mentioned in View, the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations which will be hereinafter fully described and then set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. l is a side View of a portion of a short fillerbunch machine showing the aligning means;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of the lower portion of the tobacco arranging pocket, as shown in Fig. 1, with the trap door til removed; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionalview of the pocket taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing how the particles of tobacco in the receiving pocket tend to be arranged in substantial parallelism with the pieces extending in the'same general direction.

Referring to the drawings, the hopper 5, which is mounted on the side frames 6 of the machine, carries straight plates 1 and a curved plate 8 which-together with a swingable gate '91 and a horizontal gate H31 controls the fiow of tobacco from the hopper as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 24,992 filed June 5, 1935, now Patent No. 2,130,765.

When the pocket formed by membersB and 9. has been loaded and the hopper gate closed, the gate 9 swings to its lowermost or dischargingposition, thereby permitting the tobacco in the pocket to discharge into chute II. In the illustrated embodiment chute II is formed in two parts; an upper part II, and a lower portion [2 adjustably carried by chute part I'l. Tobacco discharged from the pocket above mentioned, falls into chute H, and is directed thereby into portion I2 which-in turn discharges into chamber l3; As described in the above referred to patent gate 9-swings back to'pocket'closing position and a new charge of tobacco is fed from the hopper into the measuring pocket.

Referring to the drawings it will be seen that the wide upper portion of part l2 of the tobacco transfer or chute converges into a width equal approximately to the length of a cigar bunch. The wallsof this part cooperate with plate or trap door 30- to form a'relatively narrow V-shaped charge receiving and aligning pocket wherein pieces of tobacco receivedtherein tendto range-themselves to extend in the same general-direction. In Fig. 1, it will be observed'that the bottom plate of the chute is in the chamber.

somewhat bowed or curved from the general plane of the chute. This design allows a maximum of tobacco to be held in a relatively small and narrow space, so that in the anticipated use of this mechanism the height of the charge in the receiving and aligning pocket formed by the lower part I2 of chute If and plate 3 will be well within the limits of the pocket forming members. The bottom of the chute I2a and the trap door as are so spaced that the pocket for the major part of its length has substantially parallel walls. This arrangement of parts insures the substantial alignment or rearrangement of the pieces thereof so that they extend in the same general direction. The short filler pieces which enter the lower portion of the pocket forming members can only move in a given path, and if not arranged in the manner above described when fed into the pocket will contact the pocket walls and be swung or moved around into substantially aligned position with the lengths'of the several pieces of each charge fed extending in the same direction that is, with the lengths extending at right angles to the path of movement of plunger 33.

If extra large pieces of short filler are to be fed or if very large bunches are to be formed, it may be necessary to make the receiving and aligning pocket larger. This may be done in several ways. of the pocket is shown in Fig. 1, in which an extension of lever 25 is provided with an additional hole 26a. By locating the fastening pivot of link 21 in this hole, door 39 is held farther away from the chute walls and the pocket formed thereby is made larger. When the size of the pocket is controlled in this manner, side plates 55 assist in holding the charge in the pocket.

A shaft I4 supported in frame 6, carries a loosely mounted lever I5 equipped at its upper end with a cam follower I6 engaging in a slot of an actuator block I6 which is attached to lugs I9 and 28 provided on the side wall 2| of chute H. a stud 23 supporting one end of a tension spring .24 which at its other end is suitably attached to the bed of the machine. The pulling action of the spring causes arm 22 to descend, thus swinging the lever I5, whereby the chute I'I, by means of the action of cam follower IS in the slot I7 of block I8, turns on its fulcrum 25 and moves to dotted position I2. As the chute moves to the dotted position I2 trap door which is spaced near and follows the side walls of the chute and forms therewith the filler tobacco receiving and aligning pocket, assists in spreading the tobacco in the compression chamber. Since the charges in the pocket are not dropped as a whole into the compression chamber but are spread therein under positive mechanical control, there is very little possibility that the pieces of the filler which have been arranged to extend in one general direction will twist or get out of that arrangement as they are laid The means which move door 30 in connection with chute II include an arm 26 or" lever 15, connected by link 21 to a lever 28 to turn the latter about its pivot 29 thereby swinging the door to open where it forms with chute II the tobacco receiving and arranging pocket or to closed position where it closes opening 3IU in the top of the compression chamber I3. An adjusting screw 3I, carried by the upper arm of lever 28, provides means for stopping One means of controlling the size A central arm 22 of the lever carries I the closing of the door 30 at a desired point, and also arrests the pulling action of spring 24 when screw 3I engages a stop pin 32 mounted on the exterior of the compression chamber.

After the chute has moved to position I2, and trap door 30 has closed the chamber I3, plunger 33 suitably operated by means described in my previously referred to patent, advances the tobacco into the cutting chamber 34, which by suitable mechanism also shown and described in said patent turns 90 and descends to position 34. In approaching this position the chamber encounters and forms a loop in rolling apron in which the charge carried in the chamber is ejected and rolled into a bunch. The charge is expelled from the chamber 34 by means of a plunger 3'! in a manner shown in Patent No. 2,021,652 granted to me on Nov. 19, 1935 The chamber now rises to starting position whereupon the bunch rolling mechanism may come into operation, and roll the charge.

A cam actuated rod 39 connected to a lever 46 also mounted on shaft I4 is equipped with a stud 4I engaging an adjusting screw 42 of arm 26. When lever 40 is turned the Stud 41 pushes against screw 42 and returns the chute from position I2 to its original charge receiving position, the chute retaining this latter position until lever 40 retreats, permitting spring 24 to again move the chute.

Means are provided for adjusting the charge and bunch forming devices to form cigars of different lengths. Side plates 53, 54 and 55 are adjustably supported on the machine table as shown in my Patent No. 2,021,652, previously mentioned. These plates are fixed in their desired adjusted position and then the two parts of chute portion I2 are adjusted to agree with the settings of the plates above described. The lower part of chute I I is provided with lugs 43 and 44 which cooperate with lugs 45 and 46 of chute portion I2. Lugs 43 and 44 are slotted and have passed there through adjusting screws which engage in lugs 45 and 46 to permit the adjustment of the parts of portion I2 to and from each other. Screws 430 and 460 extended through lugs 43, 44, 45 and 46 secure the two parts of the pocket in adjusted position. The lower portion I2 of the pocket is made up of two relatively movable sections having side walls 41 and 48 and bottom plates 5I and 52 provided with extensions 49 and 50 respectively, the plate 5| being on top and overlapping plate 52. As will be observed from Fig. 1, the side walls 41 and 48 gradually taper 01f from the top of the chute adjacent lugs 45 and 46 until at the mouth of the pocket adjacent the compression chamber opening 3I0 the side walls have merged with the bottom plates 49 and 50. It can be seen, therefore, that by loosening screws 430 and 460, plates 5I and 52 can be moved in or out and side walls 41 and 48 can be so set that cigar bunches of desired lengths can be formed.

The various means referred to may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, since the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible concrete forms of the same. The invention is not therefore to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cigar machine, the combination with a hopper containing a supply of filler tobacco, of a measuring device, a bunch forming chamber, a chute discharging into said chamber, a

trap door=movably mounted on said chamber and forming with said chute a receiving and arrangingpocket wherein tobacco fed from said device is arranged with its pieces extending in the same general direction, and means for-mov- 3. In a filler tobacco feeding mechanism, a

source of supply, a chute mounted for pivotal movement, a chamber located beneath said chute and provided with a tobacco filler receiving opening, a trap door normally closing said opening, said trap door when open being adapted to engage the side walls of said chute and form therewith a filler arranging and. receiving pocket wherein said tobacco is arranged with the pieces thereof extending in one general direction, and means for moving said chute and door to eject said tobacco from said pocket into said chamber.

4. In a cigar machine, a filler feeding mechanism comprising a source of supply of filler tobacco, a movable tobacco transfer for conveying tobacco fed from said source into said machine, a chamber having an opening through which said tobacco is delivered, a door adapted to close said. opening, said door when open forming with said transfer a filler arranging pocket of down- Wardly decreasing cross section for arranging tobacco falling into said pocket so that the pieces extend in one general direction, and means for moving said transfer to discharge said tobacco into said chamber and close said door.

5. In a cigar machine, a filler feeding mechanism comprising a source of supply of filler tobacco, a movable tobacco transfer for conveying tobacco fed from said source into said machine, a chamber having an opening through which said tobacco is delivered, means comprising a door adapted to close said opening, said door when open forming with said transfer a filler receiving pocket of decreasing cross section for arranging tobacco falling into said pocket so that the pieces of tobacco extend in one general direction, said means comprising a cam secured to said transfer, a lever having a cam follower engaging said cam, and means for yieldingly moving said transfer to discharge position.

6. In a cigar machine, a filler feed mechanism, comprising a source of supply of tobacco, a chute pivotally mounted on said machine, a chamber having an opening, a door pivoted adjacent said opening, said door being constructed and arranged with said chute to form a V-shaped filler arranging pocket wherein filler issuing from the upper portions of said chute strikes the narrowing portions of said pocket and moves into substantial parallelism with other filler pieces, and means for moving said chute and door in unison to spread said arranged filler tobacco in said chamber.

'7. In a cigar machine, a filler feed mechanism comprising a source of supply of tobacco, a chamber having a reciprocable compressing plunger located therein, and means for feeding filler tobacco into said chamber with pieces thereof arranged and'extendingin a direction perpendicular to the plane-of movement of said plunger, said means including a movably mounted chute and means mounted on said chambercooperating with said chute to effect said arrangement of said tobacco.

8. An apparatus for feeding filler tobacco comprising a chamber having a charging opening, a reciprocable member in said chamber, a filler transfer chute positioned to discharge charges of tobacco into said chamber in front of said member, and a door located adjacent said opening and cooperating with-said chute to arrange the pieces'of each charge of tobacco fed into-said chamber with the lengths of said pieces sub stantially perpendicular to the movement of said member.

9. In a cigar machine, mechanism for feeding filler tobacco comprising a compression chamber having a charging opening, a pivoted transfer chute for conveying charges of tobacco into said chamber, a trap door pivoted adjacent and adapted to close said opening,- means for moving said chute and door into juxtaposition to form a filler receiving and arranging pocket wherein the pieces'thereof 'are arranged with the greatest lengths extending in one general direction, and means to move said'chuteand door to spread said arranged tobacco in said chamber.

10. In a cigar machine, mechanism for feeding filler tobacco comprising a compression chamber having a charging opening, a pivoted transfer chute for conveying charges of'tobacco into said chamber, a trap door pivoted adjacent and adapted to close saidopening, means for moving said chute and door into juxtaposition to form a filler receiving and arranging pocket wherein the pieces thereof are arranged with their greatest lengths extending generally in one direction, means to move said chute and door to spread said arranged'tobacco in said chamber, and means for adjusting the position of said door relative to said chute to vary the size of said pocket.

11. In a cigar machine, mechanism for feeding filler tobacco comprising a compression chamber having a charging opening, a pivoted transfer chute for conveying charges oftobacco into said chamber, a trap door pivoted adjacent and adapted to close said opening, means for moving said chute and door into juxtaposition to form a filler receiving and arranging pocket wherein the pieces thereof are arranged with their greatest lengths extending generally in one direction, means to move said chute and door to place'said arranged'tobacco in said chamber, and means for adjusting the position of said door relative to said chute to vary the size of said pocket, said means including a lever for swinging said chute, a lever for rocking said door, a link connecting said levers, and an extension on one of said levers having adjusting means for changing the connecting position of said link.

12. In a cigar machine, mechanism for feeding fillertobacco comprising a compression chamber having a charging opening, means for transferring charges of filler tobacco to said chamber including a chute having downwardly tapering side walls, a trap door pivoted on said chamber adjacent said opening and cooperating with the tapered side walls of said chute to form a V- shaped filler receiving and arranging pocket for arranging tobacco fed thereto so that the pieces extend in substantially one general direction, and meansfor moving said chute and door to charge said chamber with said filler tobacco havingthe pieces thereof all lying-in the same general direction substantially at right angles to the sides of said chamber.

13. In a cigar machine, the combination with means for feeding filler tobacco, of a compression chamber having a charging opening, a filler transfer chute, a pivoted plate located adjacent and arranged to close said opening and means for moving said chute and plate into juxtaposition to form a substantially V-shaped filler receiving and arranging pocket for arranging pieces of tobacco fed thereto with their lengths extending generally in the same direction.

14. In a cigar machine, the combination with means for feeding filler tobacco, of a compression chamber having a filler charging opening, a movable filler transfer member having downwardly tapered side walls, a trap door adapted to close said opening, and means for moving said door into juxtaposition with said side walls to form a V-shaped filler receiving and arranging pocket for arranging the tobacco pieces with their lengths extending in the same general direction.

15. In a cigar machine, the combination with means for feeding filler tobacco, of a compression chamber having a filler charging opening, a movable filler transfer member having downwardly tapered side walls, a trap door adapted to close said opening, means for moving said door into juxtaposition with said side walls to form a V- shaped filler receiving and arranging pocket for arranging the tobacco pieces with their lengths extending in the same general direction, and means for varying the size of said pocket, said means including adjustable connections cooperating with said member and door.

16. In a cigar machine, the combination with means for feeding filler tobacco, of a compression chamber having a filler charging opening, a pivoted filler transfer member with downwardly tapered side walls, a trap door adapted to close said opening, means for moving said door into juxtaposition with said side walls to form a V- shaped filler receiving and arranging pocket, and means for varying the size of said pocket, said last-named means including plates located alongside said member and door and mechanism for adjusting the position of said door relative to said member.

17. Mechanism for forming cigar fillers comprising a charge receiving chamber, a chute delivering charges of tobacco into said chamber, and means comprising a part of said chamber cooperating with said chute to form V-shaped walls of a receiving pocket and arrange said tobacco by contact with said walls only with the lengths of said tobacco all extending in one general direction prior to its delivery into said chamber.

18. In a cigar machine, the combination with means for feeding filler tobacco, of a compression chamber having a portion arranged to swing to and from chamber closing position, said chamber normally retaining filler tobacco therein for formation into bunch charges, a filler transfer chute discharging into said chamber, and means for moving said portion into juxtaposition with said chute to form a receiving and arranging pocket for aligning filler tobacco with the pieces thereof extending generally in one direction prior to its introduction into said chamber.

19. A device for feeding filler tobacco comprising a source of supply of tobacco, means for feeding tobacco from said source, a V-shaped receiving and aligning pocket located beneath said means, said pocket including spaced walls substantially parallel to each other for a portion of the length of-the pocket, arranged to substantially align pieces of filler tobacco entering said pocket in substantial parallelism with the lengths of each piece extending in a single direction, one of said walls being of U-shaped cross section, and also having a curved portion adjacent to the tip of said V to give greater capacity to said pocket.

20. Mechanism for feeding short filler tobacco comprising a source of supply, a pocket receiving batches of tobacco from said source, means for mounting said pocket against bodily vertical movement, means including opposite parts of said pocket only for arranging said tobacco so that substantially all portions thereof tend to arrange themselves therein to extend in one general direction, means for holding said parts of said pocket stationary while said tobacco is being arranged in said pocket, and means for subsequently discharging said arranged tobacco from said pocket while maintaining said pocket fixed against bodily vertical movement.

21. A device for feeding short filler tobacco comprising a source of supply, a chamber adapted to contain a plurality of charges, a conveyor receiving a batch of tobacco from said source and delivering it directly into said chamber, a memher in said chamber operative upon tobacco delivered therein for preparing it for formation into bunch charges, said conveyor comprising opposite walls tending to align said tobacco during its movement from said source into said conveyor so that the pieces of tobacco by contact with said Walls thereof extend substantially at right angles to the path of movement of said member, means for mounting said conveyor against bodily vertical movement relative to said chamber, and means for moving one of said walls relative to the other to distribute said tobacco in said chamber.

22. In a cigar machine, the combination with a source of supply of filler tobacco and a device for intermittently separating quantities of tobacco from said source, of a bunch charge forming chamber, a pocket for transferring said tobacco from said device into said chamber, said pocket having oppositely disposed walls, one of said walls being fixed for swinging movement above said chamber, and the other being mounted adjacent said chamber for movement into cooperation with said first-named wall for arranging tobacco as it is fed into said pocket from said device by engagement with said walls so that the pieces thereof tend to lie substantially in one general direction, and means for holding said walls stationary in pocket forming position during the feed of tobacco into said pocket.

23. In a cigar machine, mechanism for feeding filler tobacco comprising a chamber having a charging opening, a device for transferring charges of tobacco through said opening into said chamber, and a member cooperating with said device to arrange the pieces of tobacco in substantial parallelism by contact of the pieces of tobacco with said device and said member only, so that their lengths lie in a plane substantially at right angles to the axis of said chamber, and means for moving said member to close said opening.

24. In a tobacco feeding mechanism, a source of supply of tobacco, a transfer surface, a tobacco receiving member, a pivoted plate mounted on said member, means for moving said transfer surface and plate to form opposite walls of a substantially V-shaped tobacco receiving pocket, said surface and plate acting to arrange the pieces of filler tobacco as they engage said Walls and are deposited in said pocket with the lengths of the pieces extending in the same general direction while maintaining said walls stationary, and means for opening said pocket to rogressively spread said tobacco issuing from said pocket in said member.

25. Mechanism for feeding short filler tobacco comprising a source of supply, a tobacco receiving member, and a pocket for receiving batches of tobacco from said source and discharging them into said member, said pocket comprising a chute pivotally mounted above said member, a plate mounted on said member, and means for moving said chute and plate together to form said pocket.

26. Mechanism for feeding short filler tobacco comprising a source of supply, a receiving memher, and a pocket for receiving batches of tobacco from said source and discharging them into said member, said pocket comprising a chute pivotally mounted above said member, a plate mounted on said member, and means for moving said chute and plate together to form said pocket, means for holding said plate and chute in pocket forming relationship while tobacco is being fed thereto, and means for moving said chute and plate in opposite directions to discharge tobacco therefrom.

27. A device for feeding filler tobacco comprising, a source of supply of tobacco, means for feeding tobacco from said source, a V-shaped tobacco receiving and arranging pocket located beneath said means, said pocket including closely spaced separately movable walls positioned to be engaged by said pieces of filler tobacco as they enter said pocket to arrange said pieces by contact with said walls with the lengths of each piece extending generally in the same direction, and means for moving each of said walls to discharge said tobacco from said pocket.

28. In a cigar machine, a filler feeding mechanism, a charge receiving chamber, a chute mount-ed adjacent said mechanism for feeding tobacco into said chamber, a member pivoted on said chamber and cooperating with said chute to form a receiving pocket, and means for moving said chute and said member relative to each other to distribute said tobacco in said chamber.

29. The combination with a measuring chamber provided with a door movable from a closed position into an upright position to admit tobacco to said chamber, of a pivoted chute adapted to swing into position adjacent the upright door to deliver tobacco to the measuring chamber and then away from the door to permit closure thereof, a device for actuating said door, and means for delivering a quantity of tobacco to said chute while it is in position adjacent the upright door.

JOHN F. HALSTEAD. 

